Fresno State will host its 16th annual men̢۪s tennis Bulldog Classic at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center this weekend where the Bulldogs̢۪ very own Rikus De Villiers will defend his title.

There will be eight other teams from California, Oregon and Nevada competing in this tournament. Some interesting match-ups will be against the players from hometown rivals Fresno City and Fresno Pacific, and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) rival Nevada.

“We always get a lot of good tennis matchups in this tournament,â€Â De Villiers said. “We get very competitive, and we obviously don’t want to give the win away for free.â€Â

This will be coach Jay Udwadia̢۪s fifth time in hosting the tournament. Udwadia has led the team to a 47-9 home record since 2005, and an almost perfect record at home in 2008, 13-1.

“This is the tournament that we’re hosting, so we love doing this,â€Â Udwadia said. “It’s always special since we get a lot of good turnouts from great schools, and the players get a lot of good matchups.â€Â

According to Udwadia, De Villiers is determined to retain his title. He said, throughout the years De Villiers has matured into a great competitor.

“Rikus is a flashy-type of player,â€Â Udwadia said. “He goes straight to the court and is not afraid to put the ball near the net, and he makes some interesting points throughout the game. He’s really exciting to watch.â€Â
Other players finding their way into the spotlight are Taylor Leiby and Remi Boutillier.

Coming out of their Wave Invitational debut last weekend, Leiby had a 3-0 record in his singles and doubles matches with partner Mirko Zapletal.

Udwadia described Leiby as an aggressive-type of player with a serve that is consistently dominating.

“When Taylor first came here, I saw a lot of raw talent. He’s worked hard and now he’s playing a lot of big time tennis, defeating Division I players like we saw last week when he defeated players from Pepperdine and Arizona,â€Â Udwadia said.

Boutillier is entering his second year with the Bulldogs after having a great freshman record last season, winning 24 of his 34 matches.

“Remi came back from the summer playing really well so I expect him to have a great Bulldog Classic and do great things for us this year,â€Â Udwadia said.

The Bulldog Classic is a traditional bracket tournament with approximately 70 players. Play will begin at 9 a.m. today, Saturday and Sunday at both Fresno State̢۪s Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center and the Fresno City College Tennis Courts.